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Empowering Tribal Communities

Supporting Tribes in funding and project implementation across California.

Funding Assistance

Empowering Tribes to secure the funding needed for transformative infrastructure projects by unlocking access to state and federal resources.

Providing Tribal-led expertise to design, strengthen, and guide project applications from vision to reality.

Delivering dedicated administrative and technical support so critical Tribal infrastructure projects are built, sustained, and owned by the communities they serve.

Project Planning

Community Infrastructure

The California Inter-Tribal Assistance Network (CITAN)

CITAN serves as a statewide Tribal-led network that expands access to federal and state resources for essential infrastructure. By reducing administrative burdens and strengthening technical capacity, we ensure California Tribes can efficiently plan, fund, and deliver projects that support sovereignty and sustainability.

Our Mission

Our mission is to unite California Tribes in strengthening sovereignty and self-determination by leading the development of sustainable community infrastructure. Guided by Tribal values, CITAN ensures that resources and opportunities flow directly into Tribal communities, securing their well-being and growth for generations to come.

The Need for a Network

Over the past several years, both California and the federal government have appropriated hundreds of millions of dollars to help pay for critical community infrastructure projects such as wastewater treatment, public drinking water systems, water purchases, electricity generation, and electrical infrastructure. Some of these programs are exclusively for Tribes, while others include Tribes as either a priority or eligible applicant.

However, these programs are currently underutilized by tribal interests and many Tribes lack the administrative and technical staff to identify and take advantage of these programs. This makes these critical projects harder to build and cost more.

There are technical assistance providers who can assist, but they are few and far between and none are specifically dedicated to serving all Tribes, and none are run by them.

Tribes Helping Tribes

The California Inter-Tribal Assistance Network (CITAN) proposed to fill this gap by bringing together both large and small tribes throughout the state to assist in the pursuit of funding and implementation of projects. Led by a Board of Directors that consists solely of tribal members and their representatives, CITAN will use funds to help Tribes plan critical community infrastructure projects, identify appropriate funding programs, assist with the program application process and then, if requested or required, perform necessary administrative duties.

Initially, CITAN will have to subcontract for grant writers, engineering and scientific staff, but eventually will be able to afford full-time staff to perform many of these functions. Within the first five years, CITAN should be of a sufficient size and have enough experience that being a block grant administrator, infrastructure bank or both could make sense. This would reduce the administrative burden for Tribal members and ensure more dollars go toward projects. Grants would go directly from the state or federal governments to the grant administrator and then issued to Tribal members on a project-by-project basis.

Additionally, any future propositions that propose to contribute funds to Tribal projects (such as Proposition 4 did in 2024) could be appropriated directly to the grant administrators instead of through a state agency.